Roller skate buying guide
Your First Quad Skates for the Rink, Jam and Dance
For a first rink, jam or dance quad, the clearest advice in our compilation of 19 rink, jam and dance voices (17 skaters and coaches, 2 dance couples) comes from rhythm teacher Dunbeezy: look for a leather boot, an aluminium plate and an adjustable stop, and put hard wheels on it for the rink floor (96A to 101A in the setups we found). Oumi Janta adds the one rule two of them agree on: do not buy very cheap skates to dance in. Whether the boot should be high or low, and whether you want a toe stop or jam plugs, depends on the style you will skate; both camps are named below.
Gear on this page: seven products are named further down — Moxi Beach Bunny Roller Skates for Women, Impala Quad Skate, Riedell Dart Roller Skates for Men and Women, Riedell R3 Indoor Quad Roller Skates for Men and Women, Candi GRL Sabina, a set of 58 x 39 mm 95A indoor quad wheels, and the Triple Eight Wristsaver. They are optional, the page works without them, and the links to them are Amazon affiliate links.
Amazon prices were read on the listing on 7 October 2026, for the size and colour Amazon shows by default; other sizes and colours can cost more or less. Retailer prices are given with their own dates. Price and availability are set by Amazon and can change.
What top skaters recommend
Features first, brands only where a skater names one for a specific feature. Where a skater is sponsored by, or owns, the brand they mention, we say so. A warning up front: very few rink, jam or dance skaters with a proven reputation have published their gear in detail. Where the record is thin, we say that too.
The three checks: leather boot, aluminium plate, adjustable stop
- Dunbeezy, who teaches rhythm skating on YouTube and has skated since his teens (reputation off YouTube not verified, no sponsor mentioned), says a cheap skate can still be good if it has a leather boot, an aluminium plate and an adjustable stop: “the difference between levels in skates are those three features”. He warns that a bright boot colour is often a sign the boot is not leather, and tells beginners to research for a long time before the first purchase (Dunbeezytv, 12 Aug 2024).
- Oumi Janta, the Berlin jam skater whose 2020 videos went viral (no skate sponsor verified), says very cheap skates do not last and are dangerous for dancing, and tells beginners to find a community of skaters (Kaltblut, 29 Feb 2020). She has not named her own skates in any source we found.
Boot: high or low depends on the style
- Dance and artistic champions skate in high, rigid artistic boots. All seven world-level skaters or couples we found on their sponsor’s pages do: Luca Lucaroni (world champion 2016-2019), Rebecca Tarlazzi (world champion 2019), Pau Garcia Domeç (world champion 2021), Natalia Baldizzone Morales (solo dance world champion 2021), Asya Sofia Testoni and Giovanni Piccolantonio (dance world silver 2021), Ana and Pedro Walgode (European dance champions 2015-2018) and Llorénç Alvarez Caballero. Dancers tend to the Edea Classica, free skaters to the Fly or Ice Fly (Edea Family pages, undated, read 7 Oct 2026). Caveat: all seven are sponsored by Edea, and none of them publishes plate or wheels.
- Kim Manning, presented as a professional roller skater by the Dance Skate channel (record not verified), skates a high leather artistic boot (Harlick) on an artistic plate (Roll-Line), as listed under her review video (Dance Skate Ep. 6, 11 May 2020; list taken from the video description, no transcript).
- Rhythm styles, according to Dunbeezy: Chicago / JB skaters use a high boot that is softer than average (harder at first, because the boot does less of the control); Detroit skaters a high leather boot; Atlanta skaters low speed-style boots with wide wheels for the turns. He started jam on a low speed-style boot with jam plugs himself.
- Disagreement, high vs low for jam. Roller disco grew up on high artistic boots with a toe stop; from the 1980s many jam skaters switched to low speed boots with jam plugs (Wikipedia, Jam skating). Tony Zane of Team Breaksk8 (top 4 on America’s Best Dance Crew, 2008) has a signature low jam boot with Vanilla; we could not read its full specs. Disagreement, stiff vs soft: the artistic champions are in rigid boots; Dunbeezy says Chicago skaters prefer softer ones.
Wheels: hard on the rink floor
- Kim Manning lists 96A wheels for indoors and a separate, softer set for outdoors.
- Katie (@ladybird_dirtt), an Instagram rink skater (reputation not verified), rides 57 mm 101A wheels at the rink; JaQuan (@rollakqi) rides Chicago 77k Vanathane wheels at the rink (Dog Days Magazine, 18 Jul 2021, updated 14 Oct 2024).
- Dunbeezy wants hard, very slippery wheels for rhythm: small and hard for Detroit slides, hard for Chicago, small fibre wheels in California. For Detroit he names a very hard “clay” wheel with a hard outer ring that resists coning.
- Diameter disagreement. Kelly, instructor at Skate Base London (local reputation), suggests 62-65 mm for an adult beginner (Skate Base London, 9 Sep 2024); Dunbeezy wants small wheels for slide styles but gives no number in the parts we read; Katie rides 57 mm. Nobody in our compilation gives a hardness number for rhythm wheels.
Toe stop or jam plugs
- Dunbeezy: jam plugs instead of a stop in Chicago, Atlanta and jam styles; a full toe stop in Detroit. Adjustable stop is one of his three quality checks.
- The dance and artistic champions skate with artistic toe stops; none of them details theirs.
Protective gear and learning
- Ana Coto, whose 2020 dance videos set off a wave of skate buying, broke her wrist early on and tells people to wear guards and a helmet (Paper, 11 Mar 2020). Marician Dedeaux Brown (cited by BuzzFeed in 2020, reputation not verified) says learn how to fall rather than trying not to (BuzzFeed News, 2020). Kelly says full pads, knees, elbows, wrists and helmet.
- Oumi Janta starts beginners on position, not gear: knees bent, feet in a V, weight forward, and how to get back up after a fall; pads if you do not feel safe (Cosmopolitan, 20 Sep 2020).
What is missing
- No world dance or artistic champion has been heard describing their plate, wheels or toe stop. No Chicago or Atlanta rhythm skater with a verified reputation has published a setup. Bill Butler, the “godfather” of roller disco, left no gear advice in the sources we read. Estro Jen (Moxi founder) has signature 101A wheels, but they are made for the skatepark, not the rink.
From the skater behind this site
- Wheels: 78A-85A outside, 95A and up on a rink floor. A rink floor is already smooth, so a hard wheel rolls faster there; on pavement a hard wheel passes the grain straight into your feet. The same skates feel like different skates after a wheel change.
- The quad toe stop is not a brake: rock onto it and your wheels leave the floor, so it is a point that does not roll. Use it to pivot, to hold still and to push off for speed; learn a real stop separately.
- Size: follow the brand’s own chart and its advice, including “go up a size” when it says so; sizes vary between makers.
- Tight means the fastenings, not the size: laces and straps done up firmly.
- His caveat: he skated inline and only learned on quads, so take his quad points with care. Quads are often built soft, like sneakers, and usually hurt less at the start.
The comparison
| Model | Price seen (date, where) | Who it is for | Recommended features it meets | Weak point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moxi Beach Bunny | Amazon.com $119.20 (B0781889KN), read 2026-10-07; $149 at rollerskatenation.com, 2026-10-06 | Beginners who will skate the rink and outside | Aluminium plate and adjustable stop (2 of Dunbeezy’s 3 checks) | Low-top vinyl boot (not leather); 78A wheels are outdoor wheels, so add a 95A+ set for the rink |
| Impala Quad Skate | Amazon.com $91.36 (B07N7PZ84S, “only 1 left”), read 2026-10-07; $107 at impalarollerskates.com, 2026-10-06 | Rink beginners on a tight budget | Aluminium plate (1 of 3 checks) | Fixed toe stop; 82A wheels, below the 95A rink floor given by the skater behind this site; low-top boot |
| Riedell Dart | Amazon.com $175.00 (B00655ZG0I), read 2026-10-07; $174.99 at usaskates.com, 2026-10-06 | Beginners who want a rink brand and 62 mm wheels | 62 mm wheels (Kelly’s 62-65 mm); 93A, closer to rink hardness than the others | Nylon plate and fixed stop: fails 2 of Dunbeezy’s 3 checks; dearest here |
| Riedell R3 Indoor Quad Roller Skates | Amazon.com $199.00 (B003ZMGSOW), read 2026-10-07 | Beginners who want an indoor rink skate from a rink brand | Metal trucks; none of Dunbeezy’s three checks verified on the listing | Vinyl (synthetic) boot, not leather; nylon plate, not aluminium; wheels, hardness and stop not stated on the listing; dearest here |
| Candi Grl Sabina | Amazon.com $79.99 (B08KGVCD83), read 2026-10-07 | Tightest budget only | None verified; high-top boot | Nylon composite plate; Oumi Janta and Dunbeezy warn against very cheap skates for dancing |
| 58 x 39 mm 95A indoor quad wheels, 8 pack | Amazon.com $18.16 (B08HMZNVQL), read 2026-10-07 | Anyone putting rink wheels on a skate sold with outdoor wheels | 95A, the bottom of the rink range given by the skater behind this site | Unbranded; softer than the 96A-101A in the setups we found |
| Triple Eight Wristsaver | Amazon.com $26.00 (B0000DZIJ6), read 2026-10-07 | Every beginner | Wrist guards (Ana Coto, Kelly) | Wrists only: add helmet, knees and elbows |
None of the five complete skates we could link, the Riedell R3 included, has all three of Dunbeezy’s checks: the R3 listing gives a vinyl boot and a nylon plate, and no leather-boot quad has a price we have verified on Amazon yet.
Our pick
The Moxi Beach Bunny meets two of the three checks (aluminium plate, adjustable stop), but its 78A wheels are for outside: for the rink, add a 95A-or-harder set. The Impala is the cheaper route with a fixed stop. If you already know your style, match the boot to it: high for Chicago, Detroit and dance, low with jam plugs for Atlanta and acrobatic jam.
Beginner FAQ
What should I look for in my first quad skates for the rink?
Rhythm skating teacher Dunbeezy gives three checks that separate skate levels: a leather boot, an aluminium plate and an adjustable stop. Add hard wheels for the rink floor: 95A and up according to the skater behind this site, 96A to 101A in the setups we found (Kim Manning, Katie). See outdoor vs indoor wheels and the wheel hardness tool.
Do I need a high-top or a low-top boot for jam skating?
It depends on the style. Dunbeezy describes Chicago (JB) and Detroit skaters in high boots, and Atlanta skaters in low speed-style boots with big wheels. Many jam skaters moved to low speed boots with jam plugs from the 1980s, which the Tony Zane model follows. Dance and artistic champions skate in high, rigid artistic boots. See the roller dance vocabulary.
Toe stop or jam plugs for a beginner?
Dunbeezy says Chicago, Atlanta and jam skaters use jam plugs, and Detroit skaters keep a full toe stop. The skater behind this site adds that a quad toe stop is not a brake but a point that does not roll, used to pivot, steady yourself and push off. An adjustable stop is one of Dunbeezy’s three quality checks. See the toe stop is not a brake and how do you stop on roller skates.
Can I use cheap skates for rink dancing?
Oumi Janta says very cheap skates do not last and are dangerous for dancing. Dunbeezy says a cheap skate can still be good if it has a leather boot, an aluminium plate and an adjustable stop, and warns that a bright boot colour often means the boot is not leather. See best roller skates under $100.
Can I use my outdoor wheels at the rink?
Kim Manning keeps separate soft wheels for outside and hard 96A wheels indoors. The skater behind this site gives 78A-85A outside and 95A and up on a rink floor, because a smooth floor lets hard wheels roll faster. Swapping wheels changes how the same skates feel. See outdoor wheels: what to buy.
What size quad skates should I buy?
Follow the brand’s own size chart and advice, including going up a size when the brand says so; sizes vary between makers. Tight applies to the laces and straps, not to the size, according to the skater behind this site. Nobody in our rink and jam compilation gave a sizing rule of their own. See how to size roller skates and the size calculator.
How this page was compiled: 19 rink, jam, rhythm and dance voices (17 skaters, coaches and instructors, plus 2 dance couples), drawn from our skater compilation of 7 October 2026. Each claim links to its source. Full compilation and method: the skater gear compilation.
Related: best roller skates for adult beginners, quad vs inline: which to buy first, protective gear that actually fits, skate rink etiquette, the skate quiz.
Keep going: this is one of the buying guides that sit next to the full Roller Skating for Beginners guide — sizing, gear, stopping, and where to skate, in one page. Free, no sign-up, nothing to buy.